My kids call me: the organizing mommy--not because I am SO organized but because I love to organize. If I were ever completely organized, I might run out of things to do. We wouldn't want that, would we?

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Sunday, December 6, 2009

I'd like to share with you one of the reasons I think homemaking is such a blast. I treat my kitchen as a "lab" and my family as "the rats" and everything is just one big "experiment".

I hardly ever make anything the same twice. All food is a "raw ingredient" in which to create something "fabulous" (or not!) Either way, the sheer satisfaction of making concoctions in the kitchen, the sewing room, the organizing venue, or the school curriculum is what makes life "fun" for me. I enjoy the "hunt" if you will, of finding the latest, greatest, strangest, most colorful, most frugal, repurposed "stuff" to make things out of.

I like to read about those who take risks. I like cookbooks that question the norm. I school techniques that produce great results without having kids sit at desks, and I like sewing "outside the box". Traditionalists run and hide from me. They warn people about me and my weirdness.

But the blog world has brought me closer to others who are always trying new things also. So, nothing I say here will be odd for you, will it?

So what's the latest thing? Coconut oil!

I am slowly learning the benefits of coconut oil and trying it in recipes. The results have been very good. As far as purchasing coconut oil cheaply, I have not found a good source yet. The Lou Anna brand is the cheapest, which is about $6.00 for a quart. I think when the rage settles down, the prices should go down a little.

So, this week's experiment was homemade peanut butter.

I used the recipe from Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions

2 cups crispy nuts

3/4 cup coconut oil

2 Tablespoons raw honey

1 t. sea salt (on p. 516)

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Here is what I did based on that recipe:

2 cups of salted organic peanuts (that I shelled)

1/2 cup coconut oil

5 T regular honey

1 t. sea salt

Ground it all in the food processor...

How it turned out: SALTY! but very good. Because the nuts were already salted, I probably should have omitted the sea salt. It had a great flavor and was very filling. So, I'll make it again. The coconut oil I found had a yellow coloring added to it, so my peanut butter had a nice golden color. At this point, I doubt it is cheaper to make your own peanut butter, if you do it the way I described. If you can find a good source for cheap coconut oil and peanuts, it could potentially be cheaper. The good news is that it really tastes good! (I was never fond of that dried out stuff that claimed to be "natural" yuck!)

So this is what makes my home sing. Join us at Moms the Word for more like this.

12 comments:

For the all natural store-bought, if you haven't already tried this, maybe it'll help you - When I open a new jar, I scoop everything out, including the oil on top, and put it in the food processor to mix it up thoroughly and then put it back in the jar and keep it in the refrigerator so it won't separate again.

Sara: the peanuts were roasted. In Sally's book, she recommends that you buy raw and roast them yourself. Also, I know your peanutbutter needs to be stirred up, but it still always tastes dry to me. (Food snob issues)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making nut butters. (We try to stay away from peanut butter, but really that has too lengthy of a reasoning to type here! lol) Cashew butter is my favorite. Want the recipe?? Cashews. {grin} Just put them in your food processor for several minutes until you have butter. Yummmmmmmm!!(And you can make peanut butter the same way - you do not have to add the oil or raw honey, but if you prefer it sweeter you would want to.)

I love coconut oil to use in replace of body oil, I had no idea you could cook with it. Thanks for sharing. I too usually try something and never make it again, my husband will say "I like this write it down so you can make it next year."Glad there are others like me:)